That's Just Your Opinion Man

I guess I find it disturbing that anyone would look to the person described as “the Patriarch of ‘Duck Dynasty’” for advice of a cultural or spiritual nature but apparently this matters. Phil Robertson has offered his opinions on homosexuality (sinful and icky) and race (African Americans were much happier when they were riding in the back of the bus). Fans of the show and conservatives have come to Robertson’s defense on the basis of his 1^st Amendment right to say stupid things; it’s just what he believes, after all, and that should be cool. Chill out, America. I mean, we all know this is what most of the 60-something white men in America believe, don’t we?

It's Full of Stars

China launched and landed a rover on the moon. I mentioned it to a friend of mine and he said, “Here comes the new space race!” I don’t think so but if that was the case I think it would be an opportunity lost. Why not internationalize the space program? I suppose I see something like that as one or more bricks on the Yellow Brick Road. Heart, hope and happily ever after lies just up ahead. I don’t know. It seems kind of boring, doesn’t it? Everybody living in peace and happiness and matching teal tunics. We like to think of our lives in heroic terms rather than seek a contemplative life. We struggle, we compete, we overcome. Man vs. man, man vs. himself, man vs. nature. Man vs. those extra 10 pounds. 

Penultimate

Almost there.

It Could Be Worse

Not every movie has a happy ending. I hate those movies.

It's Writing Itself

They’ve lost stalwart DT Vince Wilfork, three-down LB Jerod Mayo and Vince’s DT dance partner Tommy Kelly on defense and RT Sebastian Vollmer and All Galaxy TE Rob Gronkowski on offense. They have almost as much money on IR as they do on the active roster. WR Danny Amendola has been nicked up since Week 1, safety Steve Gregory missed time with a broken thumb, cornerback Aqib Talib missed time with a hip injury and they only recently got pass-catching 3^rd down RB Shane Vereen back on the field after a stint on the short-term IR. And just as rookie wide receivers Kenbrell Thompkins and Aaron Dobson seemed to be getting consistently on the same page with Brady, both of them got hurt.

After all that, the Patriots are 10-3-0 and if they win today in Miami, they will hold the “if the playoffs started today” #1 seed in the AFC Playoffs, thanks to that tiebreaker they hold with the Denver Broncos.

How is this possible?

A Play Here or There

Make a play. Win the game.

What Just Happened

I’m not sure what just happened. Am I asleep and happily dreaming or am I awake and face-to-face with an improbable reality? I’d say impossible but it seemingly just happened so impossible doesn’t apply. Improbable will have to do. Their greatest warrior, their Ajax, Rob Gronkowski fell and still Tom Brady and the Patriots would not accept defeat. They trailed 26-14 with 2:39 to play. They would need Tom Brady to be Tom Brady. They would need to recover an onside kick. They would need a call. They would need someone to step up in Gronk’s absence and they got Shane Vereen catching 12 passes for 153 yards.

I was just along for the ride. And yes, that ride made me throw up.